Outcasts
by aboardtheargo
Summary: Leo had never really been good with organic life forms. Nico never really fit in with the living. (Friendship. Please note that I am not a fan of crackships or slash something or whatever you call it.)


**Hola! :) So...I'll no longer be updating Demigod Conversations and Demigod Stage Of Dating. I pretty much lack inspiration already. (Laziness...) But anyway, here's a oneshot on Nico and Leo. House of Hades timeline. I hope you all like it!**

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Leo had managed to convince the groggy Coach Hedge to let him drive the ship at night since he couldn't sleep. But as soon as the old satyr had settled in his bunk, Leo turned the Argo II to autopilot and paced around the deck. When he turned around, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Nico di Angelo step out of the shadows.

"Dionysus' pants, you scared me." Leo let out a breath of relief, placing a hand over his chest.

"Apologies. Neither I could sleep." The son of Hades said, his voice hoars.

"What a revelation." Leo remarked sarcastically. Realizing what he just said, he quickly apologized. "I'm sorry…sarcastic mouth disease." He said.

"Well…apology accepted." Nico replied with a shrug.

"Hazel's told me all about you." Nico said as he drank his soda. He and Leo were seated on the stairs of the deck. "Ah…oh." Leo gulped. Then Nico elaborated, "Something about being the seventh wheel."

Leo wasn't sure if he'd rather talk about his complicated relationship with Hazel or…that.

_Seventh wheel_

_Seventh wheel_

_Seventh wheel_

It had been stuck on his mind nearly every second of every day since the encounter with Nemesis. He had already felt that way and some fortune cookie goddess comes along and rubs it in his face.

"You know, I never really fit in with the living." Nico was saying. "I wonder how Hazel does it. She's so…alive."

"Well…I never really do well with 'organic life forms'," Leo paralleled with Nico's statement. "It's how I was able to build this ship in only eight months. And I'm not even sure Piper and Jason like to hang-out with me anymore. Face it, I'm weird and they're a couple." Leo took a swig from his Pepsi, feeling his own words sting himself.

"But they still care for you, don't they?" Nico raised his eyebrows.

"I guess so."

"And you think anybody else on this ship cares about me except for Hazel?"

"What are you saying? We went great lengths to save your butt, Nico." Leo retorted.

"You had to kill those giants anyway. I was merely dead weight." Nico snapped.

Leo went silent. He wasn't sure how to respond, how to comfort. As he said, he wasn't good with organic life forms, much less comforting.

"Hey," He said, putting a hand on Nico's shoulder, "You're a really tough kid who's literally been through hell. If you feel like you don't belong, you do. People back at camp still worry about you. And Hazel – man, your sister really does love you. Percy trusted you to lead us to the Doors of Death, and that's what you will do. We strike back and throw Gaea's dirt back to her…uh, dirty face. However she looks like. Pull yourself together, man. We need the son of Hades on this." Leo said. The determination in his own voice surprised him. How convincing his voice was surprised him. It was as if he didn't carry his own burden anymore. Leo suddenly felt useful…and not just with fixing broken machines, but even broken people like him. Nico was looking up at him in this way he hadn't seen anyone look at him before – like he just gave a sparkling fire of hope. Leo smiled, determined.

"Leo…your hair's on fire!" Nico exclaimed.

"What?" Leo looked up. Without warning, Nico spilled his can of Pepsi on Leo's head, putting out the fire. Leo groaned.

"Way to ruin the moment."

"Me?! You were on fire! It's a reflex, you know, when someone's on fire you spill whatever liquid's on your hand." Nico defended himself.

"Whatever." Leo replied, pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping off the soda. "Anyway, where were we?"

"So…is it my turn to give a speech?" Nico asked, sitting back down beside Leo.

"Okay, let's hear it."

"You shouldn't let this whole seventh wheel thing affect you. You don't need to be in a relationship to feel like you belong. If you weren't here, there wouldn't be a quest in the first place. If you weren't here, Hazel's mind wouldn't be messed up." Nico said.

"For a moment, I was already convinced there." Leo said, sighing in annoyance and scrunching his nose.

"I'm not finished."

"Fine, continue."

Nico cleared his throat. "The last part was true, but I didn't really mean that. Okay, so you aren't exactly a seventh wheel. I mean, a seventh wheel is completely useless but you aren't. The other six would be useless. You aren't the seventh wheel, you're just kind of like…a unicycle. You roll on your own without needing anyone else. But, you aren't the only unicycle around here because I know what it feels like to be an outcast too, Leo."

Leo was silent for a moment as he stared at the kid beside him.

"I like your analogy." Leo remarked.

"Thanks. I thought about it myself."

Then the two boys fell silent. "An angel just passed by." Nico said, breaking the silence.

"What?" Leo asked in confusion.

"It's a saying. When a group of people suddenly become silent, it means that an angel just passed by."

"Oh…" Leo responded in understanding. "I might be that angel."

"Haha. All I see are horns on your head." Nico replied with a superior smirk.

"No I have a halo, actually. The horns are just there to keep it upright." Leo said with a raised eyebrow.

"Psh. My name basically has 'angel' in it so I might be the one you're referring to." Nico scrunched his nose.

"Well at least I'm hot. Hotter than hell."

"Whatever." Nico rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"Probably it's why Hazel's mind is messed up." Leo wondered aloud to himself.

Nico glared at him.

"What? It's basically an interesting thought."

"Gah. No comment on that."

Leo just shrugged with a mischievous smile.

"Well. It was nice speaking to you, Leo Valdez." Nico di Angelo said, standing and formally holding his hand out. "Yeah, you too." Leo shook the boy's hand. Nico yawned and headed in the boat.

The son of Hades wasn't that bad, after all. People said that Nico was creepy and all that, but he only needed to be understood. And so did Leo. That was the problem with being an outcast, being outside the line of the normal society. Sometimes, people would just forget about you. But it was nice to meet someone along those lines too. Even if he was an outcast, Leo was glad that he wasn't alone in it.

So that made him less of an outcast…right?

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**Please review! I'm begging you...**

**Begging you...**

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**PLEASE :3**


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